potato & spinach balti fakeaway

OK so there is nothing authentic about this ‘balti’. I didn’t even set out to make a balti but the mass of fresh coriander I added at the end just reminded me of the many mouth watering real baltis I ate in Birmingham where I grew up.

Once I tasted this and was nostalgically reminded of baltis I realised I no longer wanted to eat this with rice and longed for naan bread. But we’re in lockdown and naans don’t grow on trees. Plus dinner was ready and I needed a quick fix before the teens got hangry. So we rustled up the easiest flatbreads from a brilliant recipe my sister, Claire, gave me and just added some cumin seeds and black onion seeds for a subtle nod to India.

Despite its lack of authenticity this is easy to make and my kids begged me to make it again. That’s all the incentive I needed to share this recipe with you.

I used frozen chopped spinach as it was all I had, which made this really quick as I didn’t have to wash or chop it. It comes in little frozen blocks, I used about 12 of these for this recipe.

Method

• Fry your onion in a tablespoon of vegetable oil over a medium heat for about 6 minutes or until it has softened.
• Stir in the garlic and chopped chilli and cook for a minute before adding the spices.
• Tumble in the potatoes and stir so that they are nicely coated with the spice mixture, then pour over the stock, pop a lid on the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Now add the spinach and coconut milk and continue to simmer, without the lid on, until the veg is cooked to your liking.
• Just before serving stir in your big pile of chopped coriander.

to serve

You could serve this with steaming hot basmati rice, naan bread, or try my inauthentic side order of flat breads.

ingredients

• 400g greek yoghurt
• 400g self raising flour
• A pinch of salt
• Any flavourings you fancy. I added about a teaspoon each of cumin seeds and black onion seeds

Method

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until you have a soft, but not sticky, dough (add a little more flour if it’s too sticky).
• Turn out onto a really well floured surface and cut into equal pieces.
• Roll out as thin as you can but be careful as this does tend to stick, so as I say use loads of flour to avoid this.
• Get your pan or griddle nice and hot, you wont need oil for these. Once your pan is hot, cook your breads for about a minute on each side. You can keep them soft and warm in a nice clean tea towel. I managed to fit 2 at a time in my large griddle pan.